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Thursday, November 8, 2007

Evaluating the Talpiot Tomb in Context

In case you haven't heard yet, Professor Charlesworth, for the Third Princeton Symposium on Judaism and Christian Origins, is holding a three-day conference in Jerusalem called "Evaluating the Talpiot Tomb in Context." Dates are Jan 13-16, 2008. The provisional agenda that I was sent looks outstanding in terms of coverage and folks involved. Actually amazing might be closer to the mark.

Topics to be covered in special sessions:Ancient Beliefs about the Afterlife and Burial CustomsTombs, Ossuaries, and Burial Practices: The Archaeological EvidenceBurial Beliefs and Practices: The Textual EvidenceOnomastics and Prosopography in Second Temple JudaismThe Talpiot Ossuaries and their EpigraphyPaleo-DNA and its Archaeological ApplicationsPatina Testing and its Archaeological ApplicationsThe Talpiot Tomb in March 1980Mary Magdalene in Early Christian TraditionRelating Tomb Archaeology with Historical Figures: Possibilities and Problem DiscoveriesThe Palestinian Jesus Movement: Correlating Textual and Archaeological Evidence for Jewish ChristianityThe Burial of Jesus, the Empty Tomb, and the Jesus FamilyStatistics and the Talpiot Tomb

This is exactly the kind of academic forum that I suggested (on this blog) was needed when all the media hoopla engaged the Talpiot Tomb. I am looking forward to participating in the Jerusalem conference, and want to thank Professor Charlesworth for organizing it.

I find the phrase the 'Palestinian Jesus Movement' a large assumption. It's a little bit like the the expression the 'Qumran Community' which assumes a community of Essenes at Kh. Qumran. There is no reliable evidence for a Palestinian Jesus movement, unless you believe the extant New Testament. And it seems that scholars assume the existence of several New Testament communities.

"A large assumption"? The nature of the New Testament evidence, all by itself, is compelling -- and that is not all the evidence there is by a long shot!

A scholar's conclusions are only as good as his data and his assumptions -- as the controversy over the Talpiot Tomb proves. Only a failure to apply Occam's Razor to what evidence we have (and anti-supernaturalistic bias works against such application) would lead anyone to conclude that we can't know whether the New Testament is reliable -- or that the Talpiot Tomb has any direct relationship to Jesus and his family and students. I hope that this conference will make the latter point clear.

Anyway, God willing I WILL be in Jerusalem at that time. I am primarily attending a conference on ancient music at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, January 7-9 (including optional tour). I hope that the location and any costs of the Talpiot Tomb conference will be made public soon.